Finland joins a Nordic connected vehicle pilot

The Finnish Transport Agency, Trafi and Nokia HERE have signed an agreement on June 29, 2015, on a three-year pilot project, NordicWay, Coop. During the project, cars will utilize the mobile network to share specific and low latency traffic safety information regarding e.g. obstacles on the road, weather conditions, slippery surfaces and accidents. Voluntary drivers will download a mobile application in their smartphones to connect and share information with other vehicles on the road.

EU directives governing the quality requirements of road traffic safety information and intelligent services will tighten in the coming years. Also the road users’ expectations and needs for traffic services have increased. Finland’s strong know-how in mobile technology, dispersed population and slow renewal of the vehicle base provide a good platform for new solutions.

The pilot between the Finnish Transport Agency, Trafi and Nokia HERE is a part of a “Networked Europe” program and its Nordic Way initiative. In addition to Finland, traffic authorities from Sweden, Norway and Denmark participate in the piloting of a compatible intelligent corridor.

The first pilot phase focuses on ensuring the technical maturity of the system. The second phase begins in the spring of 2016 on E18, the main road between Helsinki and Turku and it includes Ring I and Ring III roads. The project ends by the end of 2017, when the full results can be reported.

The Nordic Way pilot provides an opportunity to prepare for new types of traffic services and traffic automation and test the applicability of Finland’s mobile network for this kind of use.
The pilot is expected to provide information about the functionality of the service through feedback from the voluntary users. Additionally the functionality of the system, its capability for wider use, its commercial potential and eco system model will be evaluated. The authorities are able to expand their knowledge about channels for critical information delivery as well as implications on traffic behavior and traffic management.

The pilot has been granted Connecting European Facility (CEF) funding from the EU Commission, covering 50% of the project costs.